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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/live/2016/oct/14/george-brandis-to-appear-at-senate-committee-over-solicitor-general-politics-live
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| Law professors condemn 'hectoring' of solicitor general by Ian Macdonald – politics live | Law professors condemn 'hectoring' of solicitor general by Ian Macdonald – politics live |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| 3.14am BST | |
| 03:14 | |
| Gleeson says he has tried to talk to the AG about the matter. | |
| After the election, Gleeson wrote on 16 July to Brandis and received no response. | |
| The attorney general has refused to engage with me on this topic despite knowing the detail of my concerns. | |
| O’Sullivan says given Gleeson has tried to avoid politics, he must have known by talking to Dreyfus he would create “a political shit storm”. | |
| Chaos ensues. | |
| Gleeson says: | |
| I thought the right thing to do was to answer honestly that question. | |
| (Here is the difference between traditional bureaucracy and modern politics. And this whole exercise must chill young public servants to the bone.) | |
| The committee breaks. | |
| Updated | |
| at 3.18am BST | |
| 3.07am BST | |
| 03:07 | |
| I will do a summary in the short break between Gleeson and Brandis, which was due over an hour ago. | |
| 3.07am BST | |
| 03:07 | |
| O’Sullivan asks about “human interaction” with Gleeson over the past weeks. | |
| Gleeson says people have made comments about the matter but any questions on that would be outside the terms of reference of the inquiry. | |
| O’Sullivan wants to know if any inquiries to him were from MPs or the media. | |
| No and no. | |
| 3.04am BST | |
| 03:04 | |
| Gleeson says he rarely speaks to opposition members. We are back to the Dreyfus conversation. | |
| O’Sullivan wants to know if he made a similar inquiry to Gleeson on a matter in the agriculture department, would Gleeson give him an answer? | |
| Gleeson says its a different situation. | |
| 3.00am BST | |
| 03:00 | |
| Hectorer-in-chief. | |
| Updated | |
| at 3.04am BST | |
| 2.58am BST | |
| 02:58 | |
| Profs galore: | |
| After a while the whole #BrandisGleeson hearing just depresses. Why did it come to this? Is this a fight the govt needed to have? #auslaw | |
| 2.57am BST | |
| 02:57 | |
| #BrandisGleeson via @deaf_soundo #auspol pic.twitter.com/CieAPpsB8N | |
| 2.55am BST | |
| 02:55 | |
| After argy bargy, we get back to questions. | |
| Gleeson says he did not discuss with Brandis any evidence he would give today. | |
| (If the senators are too combative, they take up their time to ask questions.) | |
| 2.53am BST | |
| 02:53 | |
| Sam Dastyari speaks! | |
| O’Sullivan: | |
| You should go back to China! | |
| 2.52am BST | |
| 02:52 | |
| On to LNP senator Barry O’Sullivan. | |
| O’Sullivan asks why Gleeson’s example of providing advice to the prime minister in the past few days is a breach. | |
| He asks if Gleeson sought advice from his “client” – the government – if he could reveal that advice. | |
| Gleeson says he does not regard anything he has said as inconsistent with his duties. | |
| The chair is defending Gleeson and O’Sullivan accuses Louise Pratt of a cover-up. | |
| Updated | |
| at 2.54am BST | |
| 2.44am BST | 2.44am BST |
| 02:44 | 02:44 |
| Gleeson takes issue with questions from Labor too. He doesn’t want to give “evaluative assessment” of the matter. | Gleeson takes issue with questions from Labor too. He doesn’t want to give “evaluative assessment” of the matter. |
| Watt asks if Brandis’s statement to parliament that he had consulted Gleeson in their 30 November 2015 meeting was correct? | Watt asks if Brandis’s statement to parliament that he had consulted Gleeson in their 30 November 2015 meeting was correct? |
| Gleeson says he doesn’t want to answer due to the controversy. | Gleeson says he doesn’t want to answer due to the controversy. |
| Gleeson tells the committee he asked the secretary and deputy secretary of AG’s department why he wasn’t consulted but notes that he did not “understand” their reasons. | Gleeson tells the committee he asked the secretary and deputy secretary of AG’s department why he wasn’t consulted but notes that he did not “understand” their reasons. |
| He said he was told by the deputy secretary that if there was to be consultation it was to be between the AG and and the SG. | He said he was told by the deputy secretary that if there was to be consultation it was to be between the AG and and the SG. |
| It never occurred. | It never occurred. |
| Essentially Gleeson says he was told by the secretary and the deputy secretary that it was up to the AG to consult with the SG. | Essentially Gleeson says he was told by the secretary and the deputy secretary that it was up to the AG to consult with the SG. |
| Updated | Updated |
| at 2.48am BST | at 2.48am BST |
| 2.37am BST | 2.37am BST |
| 02:37 | 02:37 |
| Gleeson says he heard about the new direction on 4 May 2016, after it was issued on the same day. He wrote on 24 May to the secretary of the AG’s department stating he disagreed because broadly: | Gleeson says he heard about the new direction on 4 May 2016, after it was issued on the same day. He wrote on 24 May to the secretary of the AG’s department stating he disagreed because broadly: |
| Updated | Updated |
| at 2.41am BST | at 2.41am BST |
| 2.34am BST | 2.34am BST |
| 02:34 | 02:34 |
| Gareth Hutchens | Gareth Hutchens |
| Over at the House of Representatives’ standing committee on economics, officials from the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority are being interrogated. | Over at the House of Representatives’ standing committee on economics, officials from the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority are being interrogated. |
| Wayne Byres, Apra’s chairman, told the committee how difficult it was to attract and keep talent with the wages Apra can afford to pay. | Wayne Byres, Apra’s chairman, told the committee how difficult it was to attract and keep talent with the wages Apra can afford to pay. |
| He said people often come to work for the regulator for the experience, but leave for jobs in the private sector where wages are much higher. | He said people often come to work for the regulator for the experience, but leave for jobs in the private sector where wages are much higher. |
| He said Apra tries to benchmark its pay to the 25th percentile of the average pay in the financial system, then make up the difference with a range of other benefits, including work-life balance. | He said Apra tries to benchmark its pay to the 25th percentile of the average pay in the financial system, then make up the difference with a range of other benefits, including work-life balance. |
| But it still loses more than 90% of its people to the private system. | But it still loses more than 90% of its people to the private system. |
| He said the government did provide Apra with extra funding in the last budget to help it improve its data system and analytical capacity, but the problem of wages remains. | He said the government did provide Apra with extra funding in the last budget to help it improve its data system and analytical capacity, but the problem of wages remains. |
| Updated | Updated |
| at 2.41am BST | at 2.41am BST |